The present invention relates to jewelry and ornaments, and more particularly to a method for the manufacturing of jewelry and ornaments under an automated process which will reduce both the consumption of manpower and production costs.
Jewelry and ornaments now selling on the market have a variety of styles. These styles are classified into three general types; arcuate, embossed, and flat. The arcuate and embossed types of jewelry and ornaments vary in material, and manufacturing method. The most prevalent style of jewelry and ornaments on the market today is the flat type. The production of the flat type requires a lot of manpower, as there are many production steps which require manual labor, such as the painting and application of colors and designs onto the surface areas of the product. The necessity of skilled crafts people to make these products adds to the production cost. Because of this, a method of printing and design transfer was adapted. The printing and design transfer method most prevalently adapted includes the following steps (refer to FIG. 1 ). 1) press forming on rolling metal plate, 2) cleaning the surface with soda water, 3) blowing drying the pieces, 4) arranging the pieces for the application of adhesive, 5) oven drying the pieces, 6) arranging the pieces for heat transfers, 7) assembly of final product. The production method described, uses manual application of Epoxy onto the surface of the semi-finished product, prior to drying it in an oven at a temperature of about 110.degree. C. for up to 90 minutes. The semi finished product is then rearranged for the application of color and or print transfer, which is then thermally treated for about 30 seconds. The product is then ready for final assembly. However, the following disadvantages exist.
(a) The manual application of Epoxy onto the surface of the semi-finished product, can cause uneven membranes on the surface, which becomes an obstacle with automatic arrangement. Furthermore, the Epoxy will not properly adhere to surfaces which have been unavoidably stained by body oils, and finger prints. This leaves a potential for flawed products.
(b) To remove the body oil and fingerprints that are unavoidably left on the semi-finished product, an immersion into soda water is required. The water is then spun off in a centrifuge, and the semi-finished product is oven dried, all of which prolongs the manufacturing process, and increases production cost.
(c) The centrifuge process invariably damages some of the pieces because of the impact and friction involved. The percentage of defects from this step is about 40%.
(d) A lot of manpower is needed, and consumed with the repeated manual arrangement of the semi-finished product. As a consequence, it is difficult to reduce manufacturing costs.